Banstead MP visit Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Banstead MP Crispin Blunt has said Russia and Iran "must face up to their responsibilities" over refugees fleeing war-torn Syria.

Mr Blunt visited Lebanon last week as part of a cross-party delegation which included Labour MP Ian Lucas, shadow middle-east minister, and Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Advancement of Anglo-Arab Understanding.

This week the group visited a make-shift refugee camp close to the Lebanese town of Bar Elias, where Mr Blunt met a father and son who had fled fighting in Homs.

The camp is currently home to a hundred families, but lacks basic sewage facilities and amenities.

Conservative banckbencher Mr Blunt said: “Most of Syria’s neighbours are doing what they can to meet the dire humanitarian need brought on by the continuing exodus of refugees from Syria.

"Britain can be proud of the help it is giving these countries. It is estimated that Lebanon alone has around 800,000 refugees.

"The international community must come to an agreed view on the political way forward.

"This must include Russia and Iran, and the West should enable, not obstruct, these countries’ necessary participation in any settlement.

"That way, they will be forced to face up to their responsibilities.”

The British Government last week struck a deal with the United Nations which will allow hundreds of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees into the UK for the first time since the conflict began.